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Jan 29, 2017

OCEAN FREIGHT, A NEW PLAYER: AMAZON * USA

* Washington - Amazon expands into ocean freight
--- Amazon.com Inc. is taking to the high seas... The online retail giant has begun handling shipment of goods by ocean to its U.S. warehouses from Chinese merchants selling on its site—taking on a role it previously left to global freight-transportation companies... The move marks Amazon’s latest step in a multiyear effort to build out its delivery business. The company doesn’t own or operate ships, but is openly acting as a global freight forwarder and third-party logistics provider, categories of companies that book space on ocean vessels and truck goods between ports and warehouses... Amazon has helped ship at least 150 containers of goods from China since October, according to shipping documents collected at ports of entry that were compiled by Ocean Audit, a company specializing in ocean-freight refund recovery for shippers... This month, Amazon started posting rates for new services such as sorting, labeling, and trucking shipments that traditionally are handled by global freight companies. The services and rates were posted under the name of its Chinese subsidiary, Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service Co., with Distribution-Publications Inc., a widely used platform for such information... Amazon declined to comment...
(PHOTO: REUTERS - Freighters and cargo containers in Long Beach, Calif. Amazon has helped ship at least 150 containers of goods from China since October)  --  Seatte, WASH, USA - The WSJ, by LAURA STEVENS - Jan. 25, 2017

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Jul 18, 2015

DOT's 6-axle truck DATA FLAWED * USA: The Coalition for Transportation Productivity says

* DC - Some of the crash data used by the U.S. Department of Transportation in its truck size and weight study was flawed

-- The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of nearly 200 of the nation’s top manufacturers, shippers, carriers and allied associations, Tuesday delivered testimony urging the federal Transportation Research Board to examine truck weight safety data contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Comprehensive Truck Size & Weight Limits Study. In his testimony, CTP Executive Director John Runyan highlighted what he said were several flaws associated with state-level data suggesting a higher crash rate for six-axle trucks — a conclusion referenced by DOT in its cover letter to Congress recommending against truck weight changes... Runyan said CTP supported carefully crafted truck weight reform giving each state the option to set higher interstate weight limits only for trucks equipped with six axles rather than the typical five. Because one-quarter of U.S. truck shipments meet the current interstate weight limit with space left in the trailer, this proposal would allow companies to meet demand with fewer vehicles and make the U.S. transportation network more efficient, especially as gross domestic product and population continue to grow... 
 Washington, DC, USA - The Trucker News - 15 July 2015

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Jul 3, 2015

TRUCKING EMPLOYMENT * USA: Surged for a second straight month in June

* DC - US trucking firms finally overtake 2007 employment peak


-- After five years of hiring gains and substantial pay raises, U.S. trucking companies finally employ more workers than they did before the Great Recession. But they’re far from end of the road... Trucking employment surged for a second straight month in June, with U.S. truckload and less-than-truckload carriers hiring approximately 7,400 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That pushed for-hire carriers tracked by the BLS past their pre-recession employment peak... 
 Washington, DC, USA - J.O.C., by William B. Cassidy - Jul 02, 2015

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Jun 6, 2015

TRUCKING NEWS * USA: New mobile platforms for the fragmented industry

* California - Port of L.A. testing mobile app to speed flow of containerized cargo

-- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced that Cargomatic, a Los Angeles-based, privately-owned technology company that matches trucking capacity with shipments, is testing its mobile app to speed up the flow of containerized cargo at the Port of Los Angeles... Cargomatic has developed a peel-off shipping concept that it calls the “Cargomatic Free Flow” program, a Web-based solution that optimizes container moves for cargo owners, terminals,and trucking companies. Testing began in early January and preliminary results are encouraging...
(Photo, by JEFF GRITCHEN: Supersizing the Port of Long Beach. Trucks line up on Pier G in the Port of Long Beach)  --  San Pedro, CAL, USA - The Trucker News Services - 4 June 2015


* Illinois - FourKites raises $1.25M for trucking logistics
-- Chicago-based FourKites, a provider of trucking logistics for shipping companies and freight brokers, just raised $1.25 million in seed funding, its first round since being founded in 2012... Founder Mathew Elenjickal started FourKites, after spending several years helping to optimize the supply chain for the shipping industry. It was there that he dealt with a lot of trucks and saw the opportunity to provide real-time location information of those trucks. Today, many trucks have GPS systems, but the location information is held in the hands of the trucking companies, said Elenjickal. End customers, such as the shipping companies, that want to know the location or status of the trucks have to pick up the phone and get that information from the trucking companies... With FourKites, that location information is now available online. Shipping companies pay FourKites for that real-time info via a subscription service. At the moment, FourKites has 12 paying customers. And through those customers, it is connected to 250 to 300 trucking companies... Elenjickal would not disclose the subscription price, but said that today, his clients are paying anywhere from $3-$5 to a person to call trucking companies to get location updates. "That's a cost we can eliminate," said Elenjickal... Today, FourKites is tracking more than a thousand loads a day... 
 Chicago, ILL, USA - VATOR TV News, by Bambi Francisco Roizen - June 3, 2015

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May 4, 2015

TRUCKING INDUSTRY COMPETENCE * USA: Ashley Furniture Industries'

* Wiscosin - Ashley Furniture steers clear of outsourcing deliveries


-- Bucking the trend toward outsourcing trucks and drivers, Ashley Furniture makes it own truck deliveries, adding profits through its handling of logistics... Ashley Furniture Industries, the largest maker and retailer of furniture in the U.S.A. owns and operates about 800 trucks and delivers almost all of its products from factories to stores. Rather than viewing the delivery process as an expensive burden better left to outside experts, the company has turned logistics into a competitive advantage and makes additional money by loading up its trucks on return trips... Ashley says its drivers are more reliable than third parties would be.,, Ashley's drivers get paid extra to load and unload trucks; their average earnings are more than $70,000 a year... Ashley employs about 3,000 people in transport and warehouse functions, nearly one-fourth of its total U.S. head count... According to supply chain consultant Mark Pearson of Accenture, Ashley's approach isn't typical, and most manufacturers switching to a third-party transport service expect greater reliability and savings of at least 10%... Echoing a sentiment heard among many U.S.A. manufacturers, a company spokeswoman says building a fleet will be a slow process. Perhaps the biggest problem is it's tough to find experienced drivers... 
(Photo: Ashley Furniture's factory inArcadia, Wiscosin)  --  Arcadia, WI, USA - Wood Working, by Larry Maloney - 1 May 2015

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Jan 28, 2012

DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * USA

* Nebraska - Driver Market, Truck Capacity Tightening

Omaha,NEB,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Jan 27, 2012: -- Trucking operator’s annual profit breaks $100 million mark, sales reach $2 billion...  A “challenging” driver market will put more pressure on trucking costs, capacity and pricing in 2012, says truckload carrier Werner Enterprises... The driver market tightened in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Omaha-based company said Thursday. Difficulty hiring enough truck drivers kept Werner’s capacity slightly below its target level of about 7,300 trucks in the latter part of 2011, the company said when announcing its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings and revenue...  Any lack of drivers didn’t slow Werner much last year... For the last quarter, Werner reported a 22 percent increase in net profit to $29.4 million, while revenue rose 10 percent to $507.9 million. In 2010, Werner was the third-largest truckload carrier in the U.S., according to SJ Consulting Group... 

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May 7, 2011

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - RC Worldwide Loss Shrinks to $102 Million

* Kansas - First quarter deficit plunges 63 percent as volume, rates climb

Overland Park,KN,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -May 6, 2011: -- A surge in freight in March and higher prices buoyed YRC Worldwide in the first quarter but couldn’t bring the troubled less-than-truckload giant back to profitability... The nation’s second-largest trucking operator lost $102 million in the first quarter, compared with $274 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 13.8 percent to $1.1 billion... (Image from wikipedia, by cam vilay: YRC worldwide, vintage Yellow Corp. Logo)

* YRC’s Zollars: LTL Truck Rates Will Keep Rising

Overland Park,KN,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -May 6, 2011: -- Contract pricing to climb as excess capacity is ‘soaked up,’ head of LTL giant says...  Less-than-truckload pricing will continue to rise throughout 2011, as a stronger economy “soaks up” excess capacity, said YRC Worldwide’s William D. Zollars...  The trucker improved revenue per hundredweight 1.8 percent in the first quarter, thanks to higher rates and fuel surcharges, he said...  That’s a smaller year-over-year increase in yield than some competitors reported, but those truckers made deeper price cuts in 2010 than YRC, Zollars said...


* Michigan - Demand Boosts Con-way Revenue 7.2 Percent. LTL unit Con-way Freight increases profit while hauling less tonnage

Ann Arbor, MICH,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -May 6, 2011: -- Transportation and logistics giant Con-way increased revenue 7.2 percent to $1.3 billion in the first quarter, reporting a $6.9 million profit... That profit would have been higher but for $6.3 million in tax adjustments, the company said. All of its units reported an operating profit in the quarter... Con-way returned to the black in 2010, reporting a $4 million profit for the year compared with a $110.9 million loss in 2009 following a fierce truck rate war... The results show progress toward a better balance of volume and pricing at less-than-truckload carrier Con-way Freight, which hauled fewer shipments...


* California - Assembly to Vote on Port Trucker Classification: Move would help truckers to organize as a union, define drayage drivers as employees

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -May 5, 2011: -- Labor interests in California are taking the battle over the job classification of drayage truck drivers to the State Assembly with a bill that would define the drivers who serve ports and intermodal rail yards as employees rather than independent contractors... The proposed law would, “deem drayage truck operators to be statutory employees for employment purposes" ...  The classification of drayage truck drivers is a key issue in the effort by the Teamsters union to organize harbor truck drivers, not only in California but in ports across the nation... Drivers at most ports are classified as independent contractors, and by federal law unions cannot organize independent contractors. If classified as employees, however, the drivers could be organized... Labor interests, including those who addressed the legislature's committee Wednesday, charge drivers at California’s ports and intermodal rail yards are being misclassified. Speakers said the drivers do not control how, when and where they work, and many of the drivers work exclusively for the same companies for years... This has significant implications for the drivers and for state governments across the nation and for the federal government, said Paul Marvy, co-author of the research report for the National Employment Law Center entitled, “The Big Rig: Poverty, Pollution and the Misclassification of Port Drivers at America’s Ports” ... Also, the legislative analysis of the bill, which is supported by the Teamsters, states the federal and state governments are losing millions of dollars in tax revenue each year as motor companies pay no employment or social security taxes...


* New Jersey - Celadon, Good news is hidden

Princeton,NJ.USA -Fleet Owner, by Jim Mele -May 5, 2011:  --  Wildly mixed economic and business forces make it “tough to forecast even one or two quarters out,” but there is some good news for trucking hidden among the contradictory signs, according to Paul Will, the vice chairman, president and COO of the Celadon Group. After three years of significant overcapacity in truckload carriage, “it now appears to be in equilibrium and going forward will be in carriers’ favor, especially if economy picks up at all,” ... Countering the good news, estimates are that it will take 48 months for employment to recover to pre-recession levels, Will said... (Image from hankstruckpictures: Celadon trucking services freightliner)

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Mar 17, 2010

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - One-Fourth of Carriers Looking at Leaving The Industry

More Truckload Owners Looking to Sell

New York,NY,USA -TruckingInfo -17 March 2010: -- Despite the fact that carriers are confident about the year ahead, one in four are considering exiting the industry over the next 18 months, according to Transport Capital Partners' (TCP) recent Business Expectations Survey... TCP uses the quarterly survey to collect the insights and opinions of executives nationwide in order to report on the current state of the industry and future expectations... Both Batts and Mikes say the industry is ripe for a flurry of acquisitions in the next 18 months... "In general, more carriers are interested in buying (37 percent) compared to selling (28 percent), led by larger carriers with a 2-to-1 margin over smaller carriers," Mikes said. He added that this may be reflective of public carriers with larger cash positions...

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Dec 8, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA

* California - Truckers want CARB rule suspended in light of cover-up

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Today's Trucking -7 Dec 2009: -- There are calls to suspend California's statewide Truck and Bus Rule because of allegations that research behind the legislation was tainted... Members of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have taken to the media to request that the board suspend the truck rule, which would require exhaust filter retrofits and engine upgrades starting in 2011 and the replacement of pre-2010 model engines between 2012 to 2022... CARB members Ron Roberts and Dr. John Telles allege that CARB had tried to cover up that the lead scientist and coordinator of the research used to justify the new emissions rules, had lied about holding a Ph.D. in statistics... Said Julie Sauls, spokeswoman for the California Trucking Association. "As stakeholders in the process, you can imagine the frustration and disappointment with the lack of transparency"... Sauls says the rule, which would cost industry $4.5 billion, needs a more robust financing mechanism, adding that the board's research lacked a true economic impact analysis...


* Missouri - Joplin trucking company to expand in 2010

Joplin,MO,USA -KOAM TV, by NINA CRISCUOLO -Dec 7, 2009: -- Con-Way Truckload announced Monday plans that will include 300 new trucks in it's fleet. The Joplin-based carrier sites customer demand for it's expansion, which will begin in January 2010... The President of Con-Way Truckload says they will add the trucks to it's current fleet by the end of 2010. Their goal is to have at least 1,000 trucks dedicated to regional service by 2011... Jasen Jones of the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board says, growth like this is exciting in a time where trucking has been hit hard... Although Schmidt says it is unclear how many jobs the expansion will create Jones believes Joplin will feel an effect...

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Aug 10, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Maine truck weight boost makes Atlantic trucking more efficient

Maine governor, John E. Baldacci, stated he and the Maine Congressional delegation are strong supporters of changing federal law to raise the six-axle truck weight limit to 100,000 pounds

Keniville,NS,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -10 August 2009: -- Atlantic Truckers and local businesses are applauding the State of Maine's decision to standardize truck weight restrictions with Eastern Canada... After years of advocating for harmonized rules, the Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce (APCC) says it's delighted Maine has proposed a one-year pilot program exempting Maine’s Interstate highway system from the current federal 80,000 pound load limit to 100,000 pounds... For Atlantic Canada and the eastern United States, it would facilitate trade between the two regions and reduce the cost of moving goods across the border," said Bill Denyar, APCC’s president and CEO, in a press release... Trucks coming from Canada can carry full weight without offloading on the American side to meet restrictions, or diverting to more rural roads where heavier loads are permitted...

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Aug 8, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Teamsters ratify YRC plan; Hoffa wants banks ‘to step up’

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker -8 July 2009: -- Teamster members who work at the freight companies of YRC Worldwide Inc. — Yellow, Roadway and Holland — have approved a Job Security Plan that provides economic relief for YRC as it works to get through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the union reported Friday... The modifications were ratified by a 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent margin, with 64 percent of members casting ballots. Ballots were mailed to union members on July 17 and were due Aug. 6... YRC called the IBT vote a “major step forward in the company's comprehensive plan.” The Job Security Plan provides YRC with over $1.2 billion of cost savings over the remaining 44 month term of the agreement and greatly enhances YRC’s financial position, the union said...

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Jun 15, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - LinkAmerica gains top level certification from SmartWay

Tulsa,OKL,USA -Fleet Owner -Jun 12, 2009: -- LinkAmerica Corp. has achieved top level certification as a SmartWay Transport Partner. LinkAmerica is a transportation solutions provider... LinkAmerica has committed to reducing its environmental impact by improving the performance of its freight delivery operations division, specifically through a recent increase in standard mpg, the company said... SmartWay is a collaborative effort between government, shippers, carriers and logistics companies that have promised to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, saving between 3.3 and 6.6 billion gal. of fuel each year by 2012...

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May 21, 2009

Trucking Industry News * USA - Smaller outfits fare worst in recession

Trucking companies struggle - The economy is hitting independent and small trucking firms hard

Marshfield,WIS,USA -The Marshfield News-Herald/Wausau Daily Herald, by Liz Welter -May 20, 2009: ... Larger firms, such as Roehl Transport, in Marshfield, are weathering the recession, but Roehl, too, has fewer trucks on the road... Roehl uses a variety of trucks for hauling cargo. That means the company can transport specialty products such as refrigerated or frozen goods... The economic downturn hasn't just affected the number of trucking jobs available -- it has wreaked havoc on what companies pay truckers to ship goods, said Tom Howells, president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, which has about 1,100 members... "There's less freight, which means it's more competitive, which means the rates go down," Howells said... As more companies compete for the same loads, there's a strong downward pressure on pricing, Koepel said. Roehl, however, continues to hire and train new drivers in anticipation of an economic rebound, he said... (Photo by Dan Young/Marshfield News-Herald - Roehl Transport mechanic Corey Hayden, left, talks with maintenance manager Steve Drexler about a wiring issue with one of the company’s tractor units. Roehl, because of the variety of freight it hauls, has been able to weather the current economic storm better than most trucking companies)

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May 13, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Tank Truck Operators Urged to Prepare for Future Freight Demand

San Diego,CAL,USA -Transport Topics, by Howard S. Abramson -12 May 2009: -- The nation’s tank truck operators meeting here were encouraged to take advantage of the current economic downturn to prepare for the future, when increasing freight demand will put great stresses on the fleets that survive the harsh times... Norm Ellis, vice president of transportation and logistics services at Qualcomm Inc., told the annual meeting of the National Tank Truck Carriers Monday that “the carriers that survive should be in a position to thrive.”... Ellis said that tank truck demand is down about 40% from last year’s levels and that “a lot of capacity has been removed from the market.” He estimated that more than 200,000 Class 8 trucks have been taken off the road since the start of 2008...


* H R Ewell joins SmartWay Partnership

East Earl, PA,USA -The Bulk Transporter -May 7, 2009: -- H R Ewell Inc, East Earl, PA, has joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership Program that helps companies and organizations recognize that they can improve their bottom line and the environment at the same time... Launched in February, 2004, the SmartWay Transport Partnership aims to achieve fuel savings of up to 150 million barrels of fuel per year. The partnership brings together major freight shippers, trucking companies, railroads, logistics companies and trade/professional associations to pursue mutually beneficial efficiencies that result in emissions reductions and other environmental improvements, as well as cost savings to the companies...

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Apr 27, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Truck Tonnage Drops 12.2% in March

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Truck tonnage decreased 12.2% in March compared with a year ago, falling to the lowest level since March 2002, American Trucking Associations said late Monday... The decline in the group’s for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index was the second-worst year-over-year decrease of the current cycle... The index fell 4.5% from the previous month, erasing the 4.5% increase it had made in the two months prior... ATA Chief Economist, Bob Costello, said he wasn’t too surprised about the March index. “Many fleets were telling us during March that freight was getting a little better,” he said...


* Celadon Reports Fiscal Third-Quarter Loss - Loss Is First in More Than Seven Years

Indianapolis,IN,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Truckload carrier Celadon Group lost $2.1 million, or 10 cents a share, in its fiscal third-quarter, compared with a profit of $100,000, or 1 cent, a year ago... The loss was the carrier’s first in more than seven years, said Chief Executive Officer, Steve Russell...


* Universal Truckload Services’ Income Drops

Warren,MI,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Universal Truckload Services said its net income plunged 95.8% to $100,000, or 1 cent per share, from $3.3 million, 21 cents, a year ago... Revenue fell 32.4% to $115 million, the company said in a statement...

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Apr 20, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Weyerhaeuser to close trucking division

Millerburg,PEN,USA -The Gazette-Times, by Steve Lathrop -18 April 2009: -- Workers at the Weyerhaeuser Trucking Division received notice Thursday that the facility will close by late June or sooner... Greg Miller, Weyerhaeuser spokesman, said that 75 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure... The layoffs include 66 truck drivers, four mechanics, three dispatchers, an office worker and a unit manager... The trucking division has a fleet of 42 trucks hauling mostly wood products to customers throughout Oregon and Washington...


* Boeing signs five-year pact with Ryder

Miami,FL,USA -The South Florida Business Journal -April 20, 2009: -- Boeing Co. said Monday it has selected Ryder System to manage its freight bill payment and audit process... Under a five-year contract, the Miami-based trucking and logistics company will provide Boeing with payment and audit services for their about 2.3 million annual freight bills... Ryder already provides Boeing with shipment planning, execution and global transportation visibility...

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